2015 brought record rainfall and flooding

Sandbags protected the R2 Country Store on San Perlita’s main street after October’s downpours. But the owner said the store, a popular town gather place, was “taking a beating.”

HARLINGEN — 2015 was an interesting year for weather.

The most significant probably was the rain.

The area saw an average of a little more than 30 to 33 inches of rain, which resulted in lush green plants in some areas and flooding in others.

“Annual rainfall ranked in the top 20 highest on record for the highly populated areas between McAllen and Brownsville,” the National Weather Service in Brownsville reported.

Soaking rains affected the Rio Grande Valley as well as other parts of the state for much of the year.

“Between March and June, the strengthening El Niño would be just one piece of the big puzzle that brought flooding rains across much of Texas, culminating in the disastrous floods in the Hill Country prior to Memorial Day,” the NWS said.

As the rains began, heat from warm and humid air flowed from the Gulf and prolonged the cloud cover at night, which helped bring temperatures above average.

During that time, an upper level pressure made its way in, killing off the rain and drying out soil into early September.

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